DEL MAR, Calif. – A veteran gelding with a new lease on life scored a come-from-behind upset in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes on Saturday at Del Mar, giving his trainer and breeder their first Grade 1 victories and his jockey his first Grade 1 in six years.
Lovesick Blues ($39.20), trained by Librado Barocio, bred by Nick Alexander and ridden by Geovanni Franco, rallied to a 1 3/4-length victory over pacesetter Hejazi in the six-furlong Bing Crosby. World Record, the 2.40-1 favorite, finished 1 1/4 lengths back in third.
The third-longest shot in the nine-runner Bing Crosby field, Lovesick Blues was making his fifth start for Barocio and his ownership group Mia Familia Racing Stable. A 7-year-old gelding, Lovesick Blues had raced 36 times when Alexander turned him out in summer 2024.
“He had run a couple of lackluster races, so we sent him down to (a layup facility),” Alexander said. “Librado called me, he loves these Grazens, and said do you want to sell him? He was a 6-year-old, he was a gelding, so I sold him.”
Lovesick Blues resumed training in winter at Santa Anita, and was one of the first horses Franco began to work regularly. The jockey was returning from an injury and looking for work. Franco and Lovesick Blues clicked.
“He’s a little handful; he’s playful,” Franco said. “But I got along with him really well, and I knew he would handle the dirt. It was just a matter of when we would pull the trigger.”
Lovesick Blues raced four times on turf this spring at Santa Anita, ridden each time by Franco. The gelding won the Siren Lure Stakes and placed in two other turf sprint stakes. His connections figured Saturday was the right time to take a shot on dirt, because the 2025 edition of the Bing Crosby did not come up very tough.
Hejazi sped to the lead in :21.78 and :44.48, and opened up into the lane. He was in front by 2 1/2 lengths at the eighth pole, but Lovesick Blues was rolling. After rallying five-wide into the stretch, he blew past Hejazi late and won in 1:08.74.
The win was the ninth from 41 starts for Lovesick Blues; he earned $240,000 and a fees-paid entry to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint this fall at Del Mar. The win was the first Grade 1 for Franco since Secret Spice won the Grade 1 Beholder Mile in 2019 at Santa Anita.
After the top three finishers, the order of the Bing Crosby was Dr. Venkman, Roll On Big Joe, Crazy Masonn, Smooth Cruisein, Spirit of Makena and Mbagnick.
The $39.20 payoff on Lovesick Blues was the highest since Pure as Gold paid $48.20 in 2006.
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